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November 7, 2013

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A&E | SPORTS
> DIFFERENCE MAKER? Kevin Olekaibe
scored 17 points in UNLV's preseason win
over Adams State Tuesday night.
MARQUEE
MATCHUPS
Five games that might
determine how far the
Rebels can run
VS. ILLINOIS (November
26) Four of the top five scorers
from last season's 23-13 Illini
squad are gone, but coach
John Groce brings in a recruiting class that includes two
top-100 guards. For UNLV, it's
a winnable game against a Big
Ten team early in the season.
AT ARIZONA (December
7) Leaving Tucson with a victory over the AP's preseason
No. 6 team would come close
to beating then-No. 1 North
Carolina in 2011. Win or lose,
it's a chance to see how UNLV
stacks up to a squad many
have pegged for the Final Four.
CLEARING THE NEXT HURDLE
Transfer guard Olekaibe stands ready to step up as UNLV opens its season BY TAYLOR BERN
AT BOISE STATE
(February 22) The Broncos
surprised a lot of folks with
their 21-11 record last season,
but they won't sneak up on
anyone this time. The two
teams play here earlier in the
month, but there's less to be
learned from beating a good
team at home. Far more rare
is the big road victory.
VS. SAN DIEGO STATE
(March 5) It's tough to tell now
whether the Aztecs will be a
little down or in the mix again
this year. We do know the
two fanbases don't like one
another, making the environment a particularly fun one.
The games usually match
the anticipation, with three of
the past four decided by two
points apiece. –Taylor Bern
PHOTO BY SAM MORRIS
season, Olekaibe averaged 17 points per game. Those were
When Kevin Olekaibe was in sixth grade, he was cut
a couple of bright spots in a season marred by injuries and
from the basketball team at J. Harold Brinley Middle
the mental distraction of being away from his family while
School in Las Vegas. At the encouragement of his art
his father's health deteriorated.
teacher, who had taken over as the basketball coach, he
Benson Olekaibe, who's originally from Nigeria, suftried again the next year, and by then was probably the best
fered a stroke in 2008 and then another in 2009. Living
player in his grade. After tryouts, Olekaibe showed up to
in hospice care, Benson got worse over the past year. He's
school early and looked for his name on the list with that
now mostly paralyzed and can't communicate.
year's roster. It was nowhere to be found.
The family, including many of Kevin Olekaibe's six sibIt turned out the school's janitor had erased Olekaibe's
lings and his mother Esther, spend a lot of time at Benson's
name to prank his young friend. Olekaibe made that team,
bedside. That's where Esther was when she saw
his ﬁrst, and last Monday he learned he had ofﬁthe news about her son's eligibility on TV.
cially joined another.
"(It's great) to put a smile on their face; just
After months of speculation, the NCAA
UNLV VS.
to get their mind off my father," Kevin Olekaibe
approved Olekaibe's hardship waiver, all but
PORTLAND
said.
clearing the way for the senior to play immediSTATE
Last season, Olekaibe averaged a career-low
ately for UNLV after transferring from Fresno
November 8,
7:30 p.m., $158.3 points per game, but as a sophomore he put
State. The Rebels are waiting on approval from
$90. Thomas
up a team-leading 17.8. With a clearer mind,
the Mountain West Conference to grant relief
& Mack Center,
Olekaibe sounds conﬁdent he can get back to
from its penalties for transferring in conference.
739-3267.
that level if that's what the Rebels ask him to do.
If the conference supports the NCAA's deci"People may have forgotten that old KO," he said,
sion prior to Friday's season opener against
"but I've improved since then."
visiting Portland State, Olekaibe should begin giving the
As national writers and even former Rebel Jimmy
Rebels much-needed help in the backcourt after Bryce
Kimmel put on a full-court press to make sure the NCAA
Dejean-Jones, arguably their best player, injured his hammade the right decision, Olekaibe went about his day. The
string last week.
communication major was asked to speak at a teachers'
Olekaibe went from Brinley to Cimarron-Memorial
workday about the inspiration he drew from his instrucHigh, where he averaged more than 35 points as a senior.
tors in the Clark County School District. Olekaibe found
His father's poor health brought Olekaibe back to Las
himself telling a gym full of middle school teachers about
Vegas, where he has walked on and isn't on scholarship.
the janitor's prank. Hours later he was ofﬁcially a Rebel.
In two Fresno State victories against the Rebels last
AT NEW MEXICO (January
15) Steve Alford is gone, but
the Lobos aren't expected
to drop off much from last
season, returning every major
piece from that team, including defending conference
Player of the Year Kendall
Williams. If New Mexico plays
like it did last season, when it
squeaked out a slew of close
wins, the Rebels should have a
chance.
46 LASVEGASWEEKLY.COM NOVEMBER 7–13, 2013
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